Honeycutt hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the first half, then finished the game with 15 points to help lead the Bruins to a 57-44 win over the University of the Pacific in the second game of the NIT Season Tip-Off West Regional. UCLA will head to Madison Square Garden now for the semifinals, where No. 7 Villanova awaits.

UCLA, down to just eight scholarship players with shooting guard Malcolm Lee out with a sprained ankle and freshman guard Matt Carlino still on the mend with a concussion, knew it would need a big game from Honeycutt. The clutch 3-pointer put Honeycutt at 13 points in the first half, along with seven rebounds and two assists.

More importantly, Honeycutt had just one turnover, reversing a startling trend from the team’s first two games, when he had 12. UCLA head coach Ben Howland has been lenient on Honeycutt early, knowing that his best athlete will fill up a stat sheet, sometimes too full.

“He obviously knows when he’s turning the ball over,” Howland said. “Except for that one that almost got away, he’s a very good passer. It’s singles. It’s doubles. It’s not going for the home run.”

The Bruins already have a cleanup hitter. Sophomore power forward Reeves Nelson continues to dominate offensively, finishing with a career-high-tying 21 points, including 17 first-half points, against the Tigers.

Using his left hand deftly, Nelson worked the interior, finishing layups with precision to help UCLA jump to a 3-0 start. The Bruins didn’t get their third win until the ninth game last season.

Smith finding his own

Though not a factor early on, UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith showed what all the preseason hype was about against Pepperdine in a 79-69 win Monday night.

Smith had all 13 of his points in the second half against the Waves, including 11 – and four offensive rebounds – in a four-minute spurt.

“I was just more aggressive,” Smith said. “First half, I was kinda out there, played OK, flashing, asking for the ball but not demanding it. When we started getting the ball inside, they collapsed. The more they get it inside, the more opportunities that will open up.”

Smith was similarly ineffective in the first half against the Tigers, held to zero points in five minutes after picking up two fouls.

Bright lights

UCLA came out a bit sloppy against the Waves on Monday, and both Howland and Nelson inferred that it had something to do with the uncommon routine, with tip-off at 8 p.m.

Though the Bruins started 30 minutes later against Pacific on Tuesday, though, they had no such difficulties.

“A lot of it, when we came out, was our routine was kind of messed up,” Nelson said. “(It was) playing on TV the first time, the bright lights, and not really being prepared for that, combined with not playing that well to begin with.”